Mistletoe Tales
by Reinamy's Cloud
Summary: The holidays are a time for miracles, even of the romance-variety. AU.
1. ice-skating

**Title: **Mistletoe Tales _by_ Reinamy

**Pairing: **Kagome/Inuyasha

**Rating: **PG-13

**Warnings:** Modern AU, obscene amounts of fluff, language, romance-centric, abuse of italics, un-beta'd, etc.

**Summary:** The holidays are a time for miracles, even of the romance-variety.

**Disclaimer: **This is non-profitable fanwork. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** Drabbles/ficlets written for the 2014 December Fanfic Challenge (tumblr-originated), each inspired by a prompt. In an effort to keep this short, I've restricted myself to writing no more than 1000 words per chapter. Happy Holidays, everyone!

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><p><em><strong>Prompt:<strong> 01 - Ice-skating | **Words:** 288_

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><p>When Miroku suggested they accompany his girlfriend and her friends to the skating rink, Inuyasha dug his heels in. No way. He could think of better things to do than watch people make fools of themselves on a slab of frozen water. Which he <em>refused <em>to step foot on. Wearing shoes was distasteful enough without them being _used._

"Kagome will be there," his friend mentioned offhandedly, the sharpness of his gaze at odds with his placid smile.

"She's back?" he blurted.

"Mm. Returned yesterday. And from what I hear, she was the one to suggest the outing."

_You asshole, _Inuyasha thought waspishly. He folded his arms and glanced away, towards the window fogged from cold. A part of him still wanted to refuse—he _hated _being manipulated—but a much larger part was already looking forward to Sunday. Anticipation curled in his gut at the thought. It had been far too long since he'd last seen Kagome. Too long he'd been without her glowing smiles, her bright laughter, her pleasing scent. Too long since she'd last teased him, last touched him, last spoken his name.

Too damn long.

"I'll let them know you'll be coming, then," Miroku said cheerfully before sauntering out of the hanyou's bedroom, doubtlessly attuned to the promise of murder in the air.

With an irritated huff, Inuyasha flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment his scowl started to fade and a grin took over. He knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn't help it. He felt giddy. In two more days he would see Kagome again. Nothing short of his bastard brother showing up could quell the exhilaration brimming beneath his skin.

Heck, probably not even that.

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><p><strong>AN: **To be continued.

By the way, Inuyasha and Kagome weren't involved in the past. They're strictly friends...who happen to be a bit touchy-feely with each other, not unlike how they are in canon. Thanks so much for pointing this out to me, NekoxUsa, and sorry for the confusion!

_Edited: 12/30._


	2. bundled-up

_**Prompt: **0__5 - Overly bundled up for the weather | __**Words: **__665_

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><p>"You look like a giant marshmallow," Inuyasha told her, grinning.<p>

Kagome was _here, _standing so close that he could practically feel the heat emitting off her, so close their fingers brushed every second step and he could smell the chocolate and mint on her breath whenever she turned her head to speak with him.

Inuyasha tried not to read too much into her actions but didn't quite succeed. It was hard _not _to when she'd barely left his side all day—except for when she'd ventured onto the skating rink and he'd remained behind, but even _then _he'd been the focus of her attention.

Inuyasha stubbornly refused to believe that it was a sense of obligation (or worse—_pity_) that kept bringing her to his section of the stands where she would lean against a rail, rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, to pull him into a brief conversation before skating away again. He didn't want to acknowledge that her reasons for catching his gaze so frequently were drastically different from his own, or that her tendency to monopolize his attention wasn't so much deliberate as it was incidental.

He didn't want to lose hope.

He expected the smack against his arm and did nothing to avoid it, knowing that would frustrate Kagome even more.

"Are you calling me _fat?_" she asked shrilly, slate-colored eyes narrowing.

"Of course not. I'm only saying you _look _fat; there's a difference."

She raised her fist as if to hit him again. "No there's not, _baka-yasha_!"

"No need to get testy! I'm just pointin' out that you're wearing a stupid amount of layers, is all."

Kagome huffed and ran her hands down her white overcoat, as if by doing so she'd somehow look slimmer. Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing when it puffed out again.

"I was cold, alright?" she said, crossing her arms. It didn't quite work, and the look she shot him when she was forced to lower them could have melted tungsten. "It's stupid trying to dress to impress in this weather. I mean, the temperature is in the single digits! The wind velocity makes it seem like it's less! It would have been irresponsible of me to—"

Inuyasha couldn't hold it in anymore: he laughed. Watching her grow increasingly vexed while wearing what probably amounted to half a department store was _hilarious. _She really _did _look like a giant marshmallow—a marshmallow who looked ready to throttle him. He bit back his urge to tease her further and raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry. You know I'm just messing with you, Kagome."

"You always are," she griped. "Couldn't you pick on one of the others sometime?"

Inuyasha wanted to say: _no,_ _because you're the only one who's worth the effort. I wouldn't feel half as satisfied riling anyone else up. None of the others react like you do. They don't argue, or retaliate, or forgive as easily as you do. _

_They're not _you_. _

What he said instead was, "It's your fault for blushing so prettily."

It wasn't even a lie.

As if on cue, the blush that already adorned her cheeks darkened. Inuyasha resisted the urge to lean in and press his lips against it to learn if the skin felt as warm as it looked.

"You're the absolute worst," she told him, smiling grudgingly.

Because he couldn't _not _do something, he settled for stepping forward and rearranging her unraveling scarf. He scoffed. "Liar. You adore me."

Inuyasha's breath stuttered when she looked up at him from beneath her dark lashes and shyly said, "Of course I do, Inuyasha. You're my best friend, you know. Even if you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes."

He tried not to feel overly disappointed when she leaned in and kissed him several inches away from where he desperately, _achingly_ yearned to be kissed.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, feeling warmth rise to the patch of skin she'd bestowed her wind-cracked lips upon. It tingled. "Yeah, Kagome. Me too."

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><p><em><strong>AN:** To be continued. Thanks for reading!_


	3. hot-chocolate

**A/N:** Thanks to those of you who took the time to comment and add the story to your favorites! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

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><p><em><strong>Prompt: <strong>__10 - Hot Chocolate | __**Words: **__715_

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><p>"Aw, c'mon, Sango! It's still early yet! Why don't we grab a coffee or something?"<p>

"No way," Sango drawled, ducking under the arm Miroku lifted to reel her in. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I've been perved on enough for a lifetime, thanks!"

As Miroku continued to wheedle Sango into going on a date with him and Sango procrastinated what everyone in their group knew to be inevitable, Inuyasha looked around. The street they were on was not one he remembered passing before. It was a quaint little nook dotted by small family businesses that was sectioned off from the main road and obscured on all sides by tall buildings. Little wonder it was so vacant.

Despite Inuyasha's best efforts not to glance over, his eyes had a mind of their own. Sometime in the last half-hour Houjo had managed to weasel into his and Kagome's conversation, wedge himself between them, and lure her away. Inuyasha would have thrown him somewhere if Kagome didn't look perfectly content being where she was.

(…or if he didn't genuinely fear what she would do to him if he pissed her off.)

Gods, but it was aggravating to watch, and listen, and hold back. Houjo was unsubtle as they came. Though Kagome never admitted it, Inuyasha was _sure_ she knew that his feelings towards her weren't exactly friendly. And yet she _still _hung around the guy. Which said two things, as far as he was concerned.

Either Kagome reciprocated the boy's feelings (which Inuyasha wouldn't bet on, but that might have just been wishful thinking with a heavy dose of denial on his part) or she just didn't care and saw no reason to change the way she interacted with him.

Both were troubling—the first for obvious reasons, but the second because it dampened his small hope that her behavior towards him meant he was _special _to her. It also put him in the uncomfortable position of likening himself to _Houjo_, which was. _Unbearable_.

Unwilling to listen to Houjo's pathetic attempts at flirting for a second longer, Inuyasha stuffed his hands in his pockets and stepped into the café he'd been eyeing. Upon entering he was assaulted by the cloying smell of coffee beans and chocolate, and barely managed to rein in a sneeze.

He stepped out moments later with two Styrofoam cups in hand, both steaming from the top. To his amusement, his friends were in the exact same spot he'd left them. Unfortunately that also meant that Houjo was _still_ trying to impress Kagome and was standing too damn close to her in the process.

Letting loose a soft snarl—which earned him amused looks from Ayame and Kouga—Inuyasha stomped over to the pair.

"—and I find that a good cup of coffee always does the trick," Houjo was saying with flailing hand gestures. "I know this great place that has—"

"Here," Inuyasha cut in, thrusting one of the cups towards Kagome. With a startled blink she took it between to mitten-clad hands and sniffed.

"Hot cocoa!" she exclaimed, looking up at Inuyasha in amazement. "How did you _know_? I swear I was just thinking that I'd kill for a mug of this!"

Feigning nonchalance even though inwardly he was swelling with pride, Inuyasha shrugged. "It's getting colder and you were shivering. I figured something hot might help. Besides, I know how much you like chocolate."

Inuyasha's insides liquefied at the beaming smile she sent him. "_Thank you_," she sighed after taking a sip. _"Mmm._ You even remembered the peppermint!"

"Of course," he said, fighting the urge to give Houjo a smug look, especially when the boy seemed to deflate with every word of praise aimed his way.

"Maybe we could reschedule the coffee thing," he determinedly suggested to Kagome.

While Inuyasha was reluctantly impressed by his tenaciousness, annoyance definitely won over. Which was why he took great relish in saying, "Kagome doesn't like coffee."

For a second it almost looked like Kagome was about to laugh, but when Inuyasha peered at her more closely her expression was neutral so he figured he must have imagined it.

"That's right, I don't," Kagome placidly agreed between sips. "The offer was appreciated, though."

"Right," Houjo sighed.

The hanyou smirked and thought, _Inuyasha: 2, Houjo: 0._

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><p><em><strong>AN:** To be continued. Thanks for reading! _


	4. snow-fight

_**Prompt: **04 - A snowball fight | **Words:** 860_

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><p>Despite Kagome's insistence that she was fine to walk home alone, Inuyasha accompanied her.<p>

He was hyperaware of her body brushing against his as they trudged through the snow, swapping stories, reminiscing about the past, and speculating about the future. Her scent, always so airy and sweet, soured when the topic of her grandfather's declining health came up. Inuyasha hated the way she hunched into herself as if thoughts of the inevitable were a physical burden she bore alone.

Which wasn't true. She had her family, for one thing, and her friends who were as much as.

She had _him, _who would carry it all if he could. Or however much she'd let him.

They lapsed into silence as they turned a corner onto a secluded street.

Inuyasha watched her stare up into the murky sky from the corner of his eye and clenched his fists. It wasn't right. Kagome—she should be happy, smiling and laughing always. Not _this. _But there was little he could do to set it to rights.

He looked away.

_Humans are such fleeting creatures,_ he thought, his own mood dampening. He'd always wondered why when really, there were very few differences between them and demons and even less for the halfers like him.

One day Inuyasha was going to lose her. It was a thought he didn't often dwell on simply because doing so served no other purpose than to depress him. Even if Kagome were to accept his mark there'd only be so much power behind it. If he'd been youkai the bond between them could have easily prolonged her life to match his. As hanyou, he'd be lucky if she lived three or four centuries.

It wasn't long enough. Nothing short of forever would be.

_Keh, what am I doing? _he thought with frustration, kicking a mound of snow so hard it exploded into a cloud of glittering snow crystals. _I'm acting like Kagome's about to drop dead any day now._

Whatever happened, he still had now. Kagome was still here_, _still alive and healthy and whole. But not happy, because they were both too busy losing themselves in what was yet to come to appreciate the now.

An idea struck, and Inuyasha silently fell behind. He bent down and picked up a handful of snow from the ground—checking first to make sure it didn't contain fragments of ice—and molded it into a ball.

"Kagome?" he called.

"Hmm?" She turned around. "Inuyasha? Why are you—," she broke off to gasp as a snowball hit her in the center of her forehead, stuck for all of three seconds, then fell to the floor.

Kagome was gaping, and Inuyasha's face hurt from grinning so hard.

"D-did you just—"

He lobbed another rapidly crafted snowball at her. This time it landed on her chest. The two of them watched as it slowly slid down her coat, and then glanced up at each other.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said slowly, "would you say you lived a fulfilling life?"

"Huh? Why d'ya wanna know?"

"Because I'm about to end it," she said very, very sweetly, and then ducked to scoop up two handfuls of snow and charged.

A bark of laughter erupted from him as he bolted, fast enough to evade the snow being pelted at him but not so fast that Kagome couldn't keep up. They kept at it for nearly a half-hour, until the clouds burst and a soft flurry descended from the sky.

Kagome was rosy-cheeked and breathing hard when Inuyasha finally ducked out from behind the vending machine he'd been using as a barricade and closed the distance between them.

"Do you surrender?" she threatened, one arm raised.

Inuyasha turned away to hide his smile. "Keh. For now."

"Oh, thank god," Kagome breathed, letting her arm drop and the misshaped snowball to fall with it. "I'm beat."

"And yet you were gonna attack me anyway," he pointed out.

She smirked at him. "Obviously."

It was futile, trying to hide his smile from her when everything she did, and said, prompted it to widen. "Crazy girl."

"As if you'd have me any other way," she said confidently as she leaned into his front and closed her eyes. "C'mon, Inuyasha, let's go home. I'm about to turn into a popsicle."

"Can't have that," he murmured, then without thinking lifted his claw to brush a snowflake from her eyelashes. It did not go unnoticed the way she leaned into his touch, or the way Inuyasha's thumb was slow to part with her skin.

"What was that for?" she asked, slowly opening eyes that seemed to steal color from the sky.

He shifted. "Snowflake."

She nodded in understanding, then raised herself to her tiptoes and pressed a fleeting kiss against his face. Heat spread beneath the skin and like a moth sought flame, Inuyasha yearned to touch his branded cheek.

"What was _that _for?"

"For being you," was Kagome's ambiguous reply before she caught his hand and tugged him forward.

"Hey, Inuyasha? Thanks."

Though Inuyasha pretended not to know what she was thanking him for, when she tightened her hand over his, he squeezed back.

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><p><strong>AN:** _To be cont'd._

This was supposed to be a fun drabble, but somehow it only ended up that way. Probably because I had Kaoru Wada's _Fate of Awakening Love_ on repeat while writing it. Whoops. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has commented so far—I'm glad to know that you're enjoying it!


	5. singing-'n'-baking

**Disclaimer:** Lyric credit goes to Frank Sinatra for his particular 1948 version of the song, _Santa Claus is Coming to Town._

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><p><em><strong>Prompts: <strong>#16 - Making cookies + #21 - Badly singing carols _

_**Words:** 270 (without lyrics)_

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><p>"<em>You better watch out, you better not cry, y<em>_ou better not pout, I'm telling you why: __Santa Claus is coming to town!"_

With no small amount of amusement Inuyasha watched as Kagome danced around the kitchen in a frilly, pink apron, using a ladle she held in one hand as a provisional microphone.

"_He's making a list, and checking it twice, h__e's gonna find out who's naughty or nice. __Santa Claus is coming to town!"_

"Aw, c'mon, sis! Christmas is still two weeks away!" When Kagome simply opted to ignore him—singing even _louder, _if anything—Souta turned pleading eyes in Inuyasha's direction.

"Inuyasha! Do something to make her stop! If _my _ears are ringing I _know _yours must be bleeding by now!"

"_He sees you when you're sleeping, h__e knows when you're awake…"_

Inuyasha turned away from the beseeching boy whose fingers were comically plugging his ears and gazed at the source of his agony. Kagome really _was _a terrible singer, there was no denying that. Hell, he's heard deaf people carry a tune better than she could. And yet.

"..._h__e knows when you've been bad or good s__o be good for goodness sake!"_

He couldn't help but grin when Kagome quirked an eyebrow and waggled a finger in his direction before winking and twirling away.

"I dunno," Inuyasha said absently, gaze riveted to the tantalizing sway of her hips as she danced to the counter, lifted a bowl of cookie batter, and started mixing. A bit of dough spilled from the rim and she scooped it up with her finger and popped it in her mouth. "She ain't so bad."

Souta snorted, then grumbled under his breath, "Ugh, I should've known you'd say that."

Inuyasha would have flicked the kid over the head for his cheek, but just then Kagome turned and blew him a kiss.

"_Thanks," _she mouthed, before refocusing her attention on mixing while continuing to sing at the top of her lungs.

Ears bleeding or not, this was definitely worth it.

"_OH! You better watch out, you better not cry, y__ou better not pout, I'm telling you why: __Santa Claus is coming to town…!"_

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><p><strong>AN:** TBC. I really love this one, short though it is. Thanks for reading, everyone!


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